Road of the Lost and Broken
by if-llamas-could-fly
Summary: The skies were bright and dark and silent as wordless screams ran through the air, but there, on the ground, there sat a car next to an abandoned church; and it was there that the world was truly coming to an end.
1. Road of the Lost and Broken

**A/N Ugh. I'm still busy. I'm still putting off studying for my tests. I'm still doing sneaky laptop time. Whatever. You guys get stories, I get to write. Everybody wins. Right?**

**So uh... I've actually seen a bunch of post-****_Sacrifice _****fics with this same basic plot, but I hadn't done one, and I figured I'd give it a shot. Also, this piece is somehow Dean-centric, which is not normally something that happens in my writing. Besides, it's a song-fic, which I love doing. The lyrics that inspired this and are scattered through the story are taken from the song ****_Coming Home _****by ****_Alter Bridge. _****It's an amazing song, so just, go listen to it. Enjoy! :) **_~Sammy_

* * *

_**Road of the Lost and Broken**_

"The angels. They're falling."

_As I peel away all the years of pain  
I've discovered what's been all along  
You were so right, I was so wrong._

Dean was frozen in place, eyes trained on the havoc tearing its way across the sky, but there was his little brother whimpering in ways that were just so _wrong_. He hasn't heard sounds like that since he was nothing more than a twisted almost-demon, tearing into damned souls with a practiced finesse. And if nothing else could move him into action, those sounds coming from his baby brotherdefinitely would_._

_Every shooting star, they all fall so hard  
They all fade like a played out song  
Now is the time before it's lost._

The skies were bright and dark and silent as wordless screams ran through the air, but there, on the ground, there sat a car next to an abandoned church; and it was _there_ that the world was truly coming to an end.

It was _there_, amongst the sweat and tears and _blood_, that rain slicked hands pulled and tugged and pushed and shook and trembled. It was _there_, in the mud that was too familiar, that sobs were breaking and shoulders were quivering and breaths were barely being drawn.

Sam's twisted around himself and it takes everything Dean has to not just break down right there. But Sammy needed him, and he'd be damned if he failed him again.

Sam whimpered, and Dean found himself pushing a hand through his brother's hair, shushing away softly. "It's okay Sammy. I've got you. I've got you. We're okay Sammy. We're okay."

_I'm coming home  
I'm coming home_

Dean didn't remember exactly how he managed to get Sam into the car. He debated for half a second over putting him in the back seat, but he didn't think he could handle not being able to keep a hand on his brother just then. There was a brief passing thought for Crowley, tied up and almost human in the Church, but he shoved it aside as soon as it came; he could deal with Crowley later. Sam came first. Sam always came first.

_So I'm coming home  
Lost on a road I don't belong  
I'll rest my song  
I'm so alone  
Far from the streets I call my own  
I'm coming home_

Sam was practically keening in his agony.

The Impala couldn't have driven fast enough for Dean.

_Rushing back to me  
As the city sleeps  
So afraid of what I will find  
Memories they haunt  
From deep inside_

The mud on his jeans was barely starting to dry, and the strip of cloth he'd tied around Sam's hand was barely starting to seep through with blood, when suddenly Dean couldn't _breathe_.

He _wanted_ to _die_. Sam. _His_ Sammy.

He thought that Dean hated him.

He's _dying_.

Tears that had built up and threatened to spill finally did. His vision blurred, and his fingers trembled around the steering wheel, but his foot didn't ease up on the accelerator. He _needed_ to get Sam back to the bunker. He _had_ to.

Sam had passed out a couple of miles behind, for which Dean was immensely grateful, but it still scared him, seeing Sammy pale and motionless like that. It reminded him too much of the drive after Cold Oak, and if his breath hitched at the thought, well, Sammy wasn't awake to hear it.

Dean's grip on Sam's wrist tightened. "Stay with me Sammy. I need you."

_Every broken man  
Comes to understand  
that he'll never find paradise  
When all that he wants  
Was there all the time_

The skies shook with thunder and falling angels, and ran pelted against the pitch black ribbon of highway.

Dean _prayed_.

It was useless, Heaven was falling, there was nobody left to hear his prayers, but he prayed anyway.

Because Sam would have prayed.

_So I'm coming home  
Back to a world left long ago  
And now I know  
I'm coming home  
I'll find my way back  
I'm letting go  
I'm coming home_

Sam twitched, and Dean ran a hand through his hair again, but this time, Sam _flinched_ _away_. And as if Dean wasn't already feeling broken enough, he began to whisper soft pleas.

"I'm s'rry D'n. S'rry. Tried. I did. Dis'pointed you 'gain. S'rry. Failed you. S'rry D'n. Don't leave. Please. D'n. S'rry…"

_We come to find  
What we take for granted  
Keeps us alive in the end  
So don't let time  
Leave you empty handed  
Reach out tonight and make amends_

The Impala might have swerved a good foot into the next lane, but Dean didn't care. It was an empty highway anyway.

"_I'm_ sorry Sammy. I'll find a way to fix this, I promise."

_So I'm coming home  
Back to the place where I belong  
I'll rest my song  
I'm so alone  
Far from the streets I call my own_

"I know you will, D'n."

_So I'm coming home  
Back to a world left long ago  
Now I know  
I'm coming home  
I'll find my way back  
I'm coming home_

"Sammy?"

"D'n… I don't…"

"_Sammy! No!_"

_I'm coming home_

* * *

**A/N Uh. I'm sorry? That was a cruel way to end this. But hey, I'm sleep deprived, and I felt like being evil. Anyway, let me know what you thought in a review! Reviews mean quicker updates and more posts! :) **_~Sammy_


	2. A midnight desert fall

**A/N Right. So this was actually meant to be a oneshot, but I was just listening to ore music, and I think I've developed a slight obsession with song-fics now. Ugh. Anyway, I was just rockin' out as usual, trying really hard not to study, when I heard this song that just ****_demanded_********that I write out a second chapter for this fic. The song? ****_One by One _****by ****_Alter Bridge. _****And yeah, I may or may not be in love with this band. It's not my fault they write songs with such gorgeous lyrics! enjoy the update! :) **_~Sammy_

* * *

_**A midnight desert fall**_

"Sammy?"

_Underneath the desert sun  
They bid my brother's blood to run  
Many miles away  
Hell has come today_

The sky's dropping fire and the world's ending and there's a glossy black car speeding down a rain-darkened highway.

_Fire raining from the sky  
See the face of fear asking one last time  
Let me get home safe  
Before it's too late_

"D'n… I don't…"

_"Sammy! No!"_

The Impala skid to a stop, halfway parked on the road, but Dean didn't care.

_SammySammySammySammySammy._

He's not _breathing_ and _Damnit_ this was supposed to be _over_.

He's not supposed to be frantically shaking his limp brother, begging him to _just breathe Damnit_.

"Sam… _Please."_

He doesn't beg very often, but now he _has_ to. Because Sam's _too damn still_, and that's _not_ okay.

His fingers are shaking when he presses them against his baby brother's neck, and he pushes them harder against the skin (_too cold, why is so cold_) when he can't find a pulse.

"Come _on_ Sammy."

_One by one  
The brave will fall  
Life is lost again  
They gave it all_

_There_.

There it is.

The faintest flicker, the subtlest thrum, the tiniest whisper of air, but that was enough for Dean.

As long as Sam's heart was still beating and he was still breathing, he could deal with everything that came after.

_Deep within the castle walls  
So many grieve as funeral songs  
Echo endlessly  
Ode to memories_

"D'n…?"

"You're okay Sammy. I'll get you better. I'll fix you."

"The trials…"

"They don't matter. _Nothing_ matters. Not more than you, okay?"

_This sacrifice of flesh and blood  
For a promised land that may not be won  
Let us not forget the hero laid to rest_

"It _hurts_, D'n."

"I know it does, Sammy. But I've got you, I'm here."

"'M sorry, D'n. I didn't finish… wanted to finish them. Too weak."

"I didn't _let_ you finish them Sammy. I knew you were strong enough to finish them."

"Then why'd you…"

"I couldn't lose you."

"Could've close Hell forever…"

"It isn't worth what it would've cost, Sammy."

_And they gave it all  
A price we can't ignore  
Is there hope in what they're dying for?  
For every hero born  
From every family torn  
We will honor you forevermore_

"D'n?"

"Yeah, Sammy?"

"We goin' home?"

"Yeah, Sammy. We're going home."

_One by one  
The brave will fall  
Life is lost again  
They gave it all_

* * *

**A/N Yay to random song inspirations! Leave a review and let me know what you thought. I might just put up another chapter or two, if I'm inspired to do it. (Hint- reviews equal inspiration) Thanks for reading! :) **_~Sammy_


End file.
